Research matters

Your special report on energy markets (11-17 July) underscored the various energy issues that Europe faces, from capacity constraints to investment shortfalls and inadequacies in power-grid integration across the continent.

However, I was disappointed that the report failed to highlight the important role that research plays over the longer term in addressing energy challenges.

Markets are necessary for progress, but not sufficient. As Akira Yoshino, inventor of the lithium-ion battery and this year’s Global Energy Prize laureate, stated recently: “I think that whether government support is necessary or not depends on the type of innovation. Taking the example of the lithium-ion battery, the development of power supplies for IT devices is best driven by commercial enterprises, while on the other hand energy applications that involve public infrastructure require government leadership.”

The European Union should be praised for the progress it is making in supporting research in the field of energy. It recently reached an agreement on its Horizon 2020 programme, which will see a €5 billion increase in energy programmes for the 2014-20 funding period compared to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). That is an example that others in government around the world would be wise to follow.

R&D is a silent force, whose utility is often felt only years later. In these fiscally and economically challenging times, we must not forget the contribution to future jobs and economic growth that today’s investment in research will deliver.